Nightmares
by WordStained
Summary: In the weeks following the fight with Pitch, Jack finds himself plagued with nightmares of his own death. It is too much for him to handle, and threatens to push him over the edge. It is up to the other Guardians to pull him up, and maybe find the root of the dreams. Rated T for mentions/thoughts of suicide.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: In the weeks following the fight with Pitch, Jack is plagued with nightmares of his own death. Unable to deal with it, Jack is nearly pushed over the edge. It's up to the other Guardians to pull their friend back up, and maybe get to the root of the dreams.

Disclaimer: I do not own ROTG or any characters portrayed or mentioned in this story. This is solely for entertainment and I am making no money for writing this.

A/N: I loved the movie and came up with the idea about a Jack suffering from insomnia due to nightmares. This is the result. I hope you like it.

* * *

Chapter One

Cold_ and darkness enveloped him, seeming to crush the air from his lungs. He gasped, but no air refilled them, only the freezing water. Fear washed over him as his muscles spasmed, an attempt to claw his way from the icy grasp of the water. _The moon,_ he thought,_ where is the moon?_ But it was nowhere to be found, no matter which way he jerked and twisted. His muscles grew weaker with each movement, the water burning like knives against his skin. _

_He couldn't move,_

_couldn't breath..._

_he was drowning..._

_dark oblivion pulling him down_

_deeper_

_and deeper_

_and_

_deeper_

_..._

Jack sat bolt upright, a terrified gasp escaping his lips. As he sat in the darkness, panting for breath, his body trembled uncontrollably. Slowly, he placed a hand against his cheek. The skin was alarmingly warm, as it had been the time he made the mistake of straying a little too far south as spring changed quickly to summer. Even more surprising, small beads of sweat clung to him. He tried to recall the last time he had sweated. Nothing came to mind. _I didn't even know I _could _sweat anymore, _he thought as he slumped back down.

His breathing had evened out, skin cooling down to a more normal and less alarming temperature. Still, his mind was racked with the images it had conjured up. Sleep refused too come again. With a sigh, Jack picked up his staff and took to the wind. Perhaps a little fresh air would do him some good.

It had been a week since he was inducted into the Guardians. No one had seen hide nor hair of Pitch, but they were being cautious, despite all signs pointing to him being gone. Maybe for good.

It had also been a week since he learned of his past. It was after that that the nightmares started. Every night, it was the same. Dark and freezing, suffocating. Every night, he drowned all over again.

It was made so much worse in that it felt too real, like he could really feel the water filling his lungs. At first, when he regained his memories, he didn't care that he died. The only thing that he thought about was that his sister was able to live. To be honest, he still didn't care all that much that he drowned. It may have taken three hundred years, but he finally found his purpose and the children could see him. It was the happiest he had ever been since 'waking up' the first time, all those years ago. But the nightmares tarnished that perfect happiness, like a storm cloud looming overhead on a warm, sunny day. Not that he cared much for warm, sunny days.

Jack wandered aimlessly, thinking of anything but the nightmare. Few lights twinkled below him; he was in northern Canada, in an area where there were only a few small towns here and there. It was spring, warming quickly the farther south you went. The Groundhog said winter was over, and besides in a few colder climates, Jack wasn't allowed to create much snow. Unless, of course, it was already snowing...

"Jack!" he heard a familiar voice squeak. He spun around, the wind keeping him bobbing in place, and saw Tooth fluttering toward him. He forgot that she decided to resume doing field work with the Baby Teeth. Her feather glimmered in the pale moonlight as she hovered in front of him, hummingbird wings beating rapidly. Her smile faded into a look of concern as she studied Jack. Vaguely, he wondered what he looked like.

"Are you okay, Jack?" She pressed her hand gently against his forehead in something that struck Jack as an almost... motherly gesture. "You're kind of warm... Are you sick?"

"No," he said with a light smile, though he was sure it looked forced. "I'm not sick. I think I was just a little too far south, and it warmed up a lot faster than I expected." That, of course, was a complete lie, but the relief that spread over her face told Jack that he was convincing enough.

"You should be more careful," she scolded, but her tone was light. With a chuckle, Jack retorted, "It's like you don't know me at all."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for the faves/follows guys! I didn't think this would get many views, to be honest. It just needed to get out of my head. xD So, here's chapter two!

* * *

Chapter Two

"Are you sure?" North asked, brow creased in concentration. It was very early in the morning when Tooth showed up to talk. According to her, something was very wrong with Jack, but she didn't know what. "What happened again?" She sighed in frustration, fluttering back and forth in front of him. She was frazzled, to say the least.

"I told you; he looked distracted when I saw him and he sounded really tired. When I got a good look at him, his skin was flushed. On someone like me or you, it would have looked normal, but, on Jack, it didn't look healthy at all." She sounded so distressed, words spilling out in a rush. "And he felt warm, like normal person temperature, and I know that's not right. And I asked if he was sick, but he just said he was too far south and it got too warm, and I'm sure that's what he would look like if that happened, but I could see it in his eyes. He was lying, but I don't know why. If he was sick, why wouldn't he just tell me? Why would he lie? Do you think he's sick? What-"

"Tooth," North said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes were wide, brimming with concern for their friend. "Calm down. I'm sure Jack is fine. Just breath." She took a deep breath, eyes slipping closed. "Would it help if I talked to him?" Her head bobbed up and down, but it was evident she was still worried.

"Just keep this between us for now, okay?" she asked. The look on her face was impossible to refuse; North agreed to keep the secret and sent the still distraught Tooth on her way with the promise that he would speak with Jack as soon as he could.

~OoO~

Tooth had been right; something was, indeed, very wrong with Frost. His skin was flushed, giving him a sickly look. There were dark half-circles under his eyes, indicating more than a couple restless nights. He looked about ready to keel over at any second, leaning a bit too heavily on his staff. North knew without hearing what Jack had to say that he had, in fact, lied to Tooth about getting caught in warm weather.

"You wanted something?" Jack asked lamely after a long moment of silence. His voice was bland, monotone. His eyes drooped a little. North felt a pang of concern for his friend, who was clearly in a very bad way.

"Why did you lie to Tooth?" he asked, voice neither demanding or gentle. If Jack was surprised, he didn't show it. He lowered his head slightly, allowing a few strands of his white hair to drop out from under his hood, in front of his eyes. North noticed it was lank and oily. Jack looked so fragile, breakable, like a little nudge would be enough to topple him right over.

With a shrug, he simply said, "I dunno." His eyes were dull, devoid of any emotion that North could detect. It was like he was hollow, dead. The thought disturbed him, and he pushed it away, focusing back on the conversation.

"That's not an answer." Shrug. "Something is wrong. Tell me." Jack shook his head. He was breathing heavily, North noted. "How long has it been since you've slept?" North asked impulsively. Something sparked in Jack's eyes, but North was unable to decipher its meaning.

"I slept last night," Jack said slowly after a brief moment.

"For how long?" The boy mumbled something unintelligible. "Come again?" With a sigh, Jack spoke again, louder this time. "Maybe two hours?" That was exactly what he was afraid of.

"Can I go now?"

"Will you tell me what's wrong?"

"No." And he was gone.

~OoO~

_Darkness._

_Cold, choking, maddening darkness._

_Always darkness. _

_No moon. _

_Where was the moon? _

_Alone. _

_Drowning. _

_Dying... _

_drifting... _

_dark... _

_gone..._

_..._

* * *

Always the same. Always drowning, always dying, always in the dark. Sleep was bad, Jack realized. No more sleep.

No more...

never again.

Never...


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks for the support guys! Sorry it's been a few days. Is it weird that most of my time to write is during the school day? I have like three or four classes that I can write at the beginning and end of, and two that I have pretty much the entire period to do nothing, save for the occasional errand the teacher I aid for has me do (filling up a water bottle, getting a pop from the vending machine, making copies, etc). So, yeah, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

* * *

Chapter Three

Jack was sitting on the rail, leaning against the post off to the side and watching the giant globe spin. There were more lights lit up than he had ever seen, and a small part of his mind registered that some of them believed in him now. His eyes fixed onto where he knew Burgess was when it came into sight. He vaguely wondered which ones were Jamie and Sophie and all the other kids who stood with the Guardians against Pitch.

"Hey, Jack," he heard a familiar voice off to his right call, dragging him from his thoughts. He pulled his eyes away from the globe as Burgess disappeared from sight and found Bunnymund watching him. "Do you know why North called us here?" He didn't actually, having been sitting there alone and in silence for nearly half an hour. Instead of saying all of that, Jack merely shook his head lazily, not having the energy to do more even if he wanted to. It had been three days since North spoke to him, three days since Jack made the decision that sleep wasn't worth the nightmares. He hardly closed his eyes since.

Bunny stared at him for another moment, clearly debating saying _something - _Jack thought he knew what - but apparently decided against it, turning away to do whatever he did when he was bored. Jack looked back up to the globe. Africa looked back at him. With an inaudible sigh, Jack leaned his head back against the post, eyes half lidded, hand still unconsciously running over the handle of his staff as it had been since he arrived. It was after a long moment that he realized he was face to face with the moon.

Sitting up a little, Jack pushed the hood off his head, staring intently up at the familiar orb. It was full, dulled by the light of the afternoon sky, but much brighter than it should have been. The Man in the Moon had been silent again since Jack became a Guardian, but he didn't mind. if the Man in the Moon wanted to tell him something, he would do it when he needed to, when Jack was ready, and not a second sooner. Still... if he asked...

"Jack!" He jumped as something squeaking and blue tackled him with a hug, nearly knocking him from his perch. It was just Tooth, he knew. She let him go after a moment, looking at his face. She smiled, but it was there; the exact thing he knew he was going to see. Under the smile, there was a slightly pained look, like she knew what she was going to see when she looked at him, but hoped she would be wrong. She wasn't though. Jack felt almost... guilty, worrying her like that. His chat with North made him see his lie wasn't as convincing as he initially thought, and he felt bad for lying in the first place.

"Tooth," Bunny called from across the room, "do _you_ know why we're here?"

"Uh-huh!" she chirped as she fluttered from side to side. "North thought we should celebrate properly."

"Celebrate?" Jack asked, swinging his legs over the edge of the rail and resting his bare feet on the cool, wooden floor. "Is it someone's birthday?" She laughed.

"No, silly! We never really got to celebrate our victory, or your induction into the Guardians!" Jack just stared at her. There was a tight note in her light tone that told him there was something more to all of this. Judging by his expression, it was something Bunny wasn't in on. "Sandy will be here soon, and North has to sort something out with the Yetis before he comes up then we're going to just hang out here while we wait on dinner."

"What's for dinner?" Bunny asked, nose twitching slightly. She didn't answer, just stared at Jack, maybe judging his reaction. Not really sure how he felt, he just smiled weekly and told her, "Sounds good."

~OoO~

Just as she had told Jack and Bunny, Sandy and North joined them within the half hour. There was light chatting and laughter, except Jack wasn't among them. He still sat resolute on the rail, staring up at the moon. She wondered what could have been going through his mind, a pang of sympathy running through her. Something was really wrong with him.

It wasn't too long before Bunny and Sandy realized this too. In a hushed whisper, Bunny voiced his thoughts on the matter. Jack wasn't paying attention, so Tooth and North quickly ran over what had happened. A large, golden question mark formed over Sandy's head when they finished telling all they knew. "We don't know," North replied, glancing over his shoulder at the boy in question. He was paying them no mind.

"What do you _thing _is wrong with him?" Bunny asked. Tooth shook her head. "I wish I could tell," she muttered. "I mean, when I saw him that night, he looked flushed and he was warm, like he was sick and running a fever. Now...?"

"Look at the circles under his eyes," North said, and they all looked. Jack glanced over at them, but if he was suspicious or concerned, he didn't show it. He just returned to looking up at the moon. North was right, though. Tooth had seen it before, of course, but now that she really looked, she wondered how it wasn't the only thing she saw. "What does it mean?" Bunny asked, not wanting to accept what he was seeing. They had become close friends, Bunny and Jack. They all had come to care for the boy, even in the short time he had been with them.

Sandy tapped Tooth's hand and they all looked down at him as a little, golden Jack formed over his head. The Jack laid down, little Zs coming off his head. "Jack, sleeping?" North guessed. Then and X split the golden Jack in half, making him fall apart in a swirl of sand.

"Jack isn't sleeping," Tooth whispered, shooting another glance at their friend. He didn't even know they were talking about him. When she looked back at Sandy, the little Jack was reformed. He was pacing back and forth. "Jack can't sleep?"

The Jack's behavior became more erratic. He fell to his knees, hands pulling at his hair. A few tears spilled from Tooth's eyes at the tiny Sand Jack's all too real pain. Then it was gone; Bunny sliced one of his boomerangs through it, shattering the image. Sand fell to the floor with a light pitter-patter sound. "Jack has insomnia," he concluded in a subdued voice, replacing the boomerang in it's sheath where it belonged. Sandy nodded, a grim expression on his face. They knew he was right. If the Sandman said someone had insomnia, you should probably believe him. And Jack definitely looked worse for wear. None of them were sure what to say.

"There is only one thing to be done about this," North mused, stroking his beard. "Sandman, when I give you a signal, you knock Jack out." Another question mark floated over his head. North sighed. "We all know Jack. He won't just let us help; he won't admit there's a problem at all. If we want to help him, we have to do it by force. How long do you think you can get him to sleep for?" The gold question mark twisted itself into a 4. "Hours?" Sandy nodded.

"It's not much," Tooth sighed.

"But it's the best we got right now," Bunny grunted. "Let's do it." Tooth nodded and North turned, calling Jack over. He floated sluggishly, landing rather clumsily in front of them.

"Is dinner ready?" he asked, eyes unsuspecting. North smiled, putting his hands on Jack's shoulders. "Of course!" No one moved and Jack looked from face to concerned face. Then he saw the ball of dream sand in Sandy's hand and his eyes grew wide.

"Now, Sandman!"

"No!" Jack shouted, but he was unable to escape North's grasp. Then the sand connected with his chest, and he went limp, fast asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry I didn't update in a few days. You all know how it is; you don't think about it so you forget, you got other stuff to do, you don't feel like posting when you get the chance, etc. Yeah, well, story of my life. Anyway, here's chapter four.

* * *

Chapter Four

_Jack was running through the forest, bare feet digging into the soft earth. Laughter resonated around him as he swung around trees and hopped over underbrush. He knew that laugh. The aching familiar voice called his name, and he searched frantically for its owner. He knew something good would happen when he found it._

_The ground turned to ice under his feet, snow coating the forest in the blink of an eye. He spun around. The laughter was gone, and so was the first shred of happiness he had felt in over a week. "Jack!" He whirled back around. There she was; Jack's little sister. Her big, brown eyes were wide with fear. Jack saw the cracking ice under her and his heart sunk. "Jack, I'm scared!"_

_"I... I know," he told her through the lump in his throat. He already knew exactly how this scene would play out. "But I promise, I promise you're gonna be just fine. We're gonna have a little fun, instead." The words were bitter in his mouth._

_"Don't leave me!" she begged, surprising him. That wasn't right, was it? "Jack, why did you leave me?"_

_"I didn't leave you! I- I'm right here!" She shook her head, shuffling back a few steps onto thinner ice. "Please, stop!"_

_"Why did you leave me and mommy and daddy? Why did you leave?" Her words sounded like an accusation._

_Mind reeling, heart racing, Jack protested, "I didn't mean to! I didn't want to... I..." _I died_, he thought. She continued to fling harsh words at him._

_"Just look at you!" she continued as if he hadn't spoken. "You're not human; you're a freak!" He tried to step toward her, but she simply backed away farther. "Get away from me, freak!" The ice cracked more, audibly. Jack cringed, as if it was the sound of her imminent death._

_He tried to swallow down the lump that had been stuck in his throat since his dream turned into yet another nightmare, feeling the sting of tears behind his eyes. This was wrong. "Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't chose to leave you. I didn't chose to changed, but I'm still the same Jack you've always known."_

_"No, you're not." Her words were knives, biting into his frozen skin. The contempt in her eyes was biting, like she was picking away at his soul with every passing second. "Okay!" he shouted in frustration. "Fine. Hate me or not, you have to trust me. You have to let me get you off this ice or you will-"_

_"Die?" she barked. "No, I won't die, Jack. You will." For a split second, he thought he saw something stir in the shadow she cast, something that looked familiar and alien at the same time, but then the ice under him gave way and he was dumped into the freezing water, the sound of her laughter, sweet as ever, chasing him as he sunk_

_down,  
down,  
down...  
always down...  
down..._

_Forever  
..._

~OoO~

Jack had been asleep for about an hour. There was an innocent, vulnerable quality in his face as he slept that made him look like a little boy, even if his rather gangly body was stretched awkwardly across a sofa, long legs hanging over the edge. Tooth knew it would be hours before he would wake, but she couldn't bring herself to leave his side, as if he might melt away if she did.

He was still as death, save for the steady rise and fall of his chest. His staff leaned against the wall behind his head, safe where he could find it later. Every now and then, he snored softly, or muttered something as he dreamed. "I know... promise... have a lit'le fun..." She smiled when she heard that. He deserved a happy dream when he was feeling so bad. His eyes darted back and forth, as everyone's eyes do when they dream. Then his face scrunched up, eyes moving more rapidly and hands clenching and unclenching in what looked like a nervous gesture. Tooth watched as his head moved slowly back and forth, unsure of what she should do. "Didn't leave you... Didn't... want to..."

He was having a nightmare, she realized, and a bad one. "Guys," she called loudly, half hoping Jack would wake up. "_Guys!_" They ran in, similar masks of curiosity on their faces. She said nothing, just pointed at Jack as a young child might do. "What's happening?" Bunny asked as it dawned on him that something wasn't right.

"Have to let me... or you'll..." They would never know what he had to do or what would happen if he didn't. His voice trailed off suddenly, then a strangled cry escaped his lips. They all stood rooted in place. No one knew what they should do, and it seemed they were capable of no more than watching in horror anyway.

Jack was thrashing around violently, arms clawing at the air, head whipping from side to side as he gasped for breath like a fish out of water. "Is he having a seizure?" Tooth asked no one in particular; no one had an answer.

After a moment, his struggling and breathing started to slow. In a final twist, he rolled off the edge of the sofa, falling with a soft thud on the wood floor. There was a gasp and his breathing picked up once more. He was awake. There was a muffled hitch in his breath as he laid there, face hidden in his arms and his whole body trembling. He was crying, she realized. It was another long moment before his breathing evened and he was no longer noticeably shaking. Slowly, he pushed himself to his knees. Even though he didn't acknowledge them, it was obvious he knew they were there. He refused to look at them.

"Jack," Tooth said gently, fluttering closer to him. His back tensed as she placed a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't push her away. "Will you tell me what happened?"

He pushed off the ground suddenly, snagging his staff, and paused only to growl, "_Never_ do that again," at North before rushing out of the room faster than any of them could think to stop him. They didn't go after him. There was no point; it would only serve to further embarrass and frustrate the poor boy.

"What was that?" North demanded, closing the door behind him, as if any of them actually thought Jack would return. Before Tooth could answer, an image formed over Sandy's head; he already knew exactly what that was. The image was a little horse, but it was bony and gave off a sinister feel. If it were made of black sand, it would have been an exact likeness of one of Pitch's nightmares. He dispelled it after only a minute, but that was long enough for the North and Bunny to understand.

"A nightmare?" Bunny growled. "Is this Pitch's work?"

"It's impossible to tell," Tooth told him, looking away. "But I think I know what his nightmare was about."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: *Peeks around corner nervously* Hey, guys. Wow... would you look at the date... Sure has been a while. Four months from next Monday... Wow, time sure does fly. I have an excuse for April through June, thought! April and the beginning of May, I was busy with the end of the school year, studying for end-of-the-year exams and whatnot. Then through May to the beginning of June I was studying for my ACT (I got a 26 by the way; I was aiming for 21, not really expecting to do very well especially given that I didn't even finish the math because I ran out of time). Then at the end of June I went to this completely awesome young writer's program at a college near where I live, so it was a week of focusing on original stuff, not fanfics. Then July rolled around and I was just being lazy. Now, don't think I've forgotten Nightmares, I just haven't had the inspiration to write anything for it. And it really doesn't help that my sister took my copy of Guardians a couple of weeks ago and hasn't given it back, nor shown any indication that she intends to any time soon (she also took Despicable Me, but that's beside the point). I could argue that in July I was busy babysitting (which I was), but that mostly consists of my sitting on the couch with cartoons on while I YouTube or play DS (Don't give me that look! They're children, they entertain themselves, and I can multi-task very well). So, yeah. I'm bored, it's 2 AM, so why not avoid rolling around fitfully in my bed for a few hours and write a poorly neglected fanfiction?

Don't worry, I didn't really expect you to read all of that.

So, yeah. Welcome back to the story (though I suppose it should be _you _saying that to _me_), let's get this show on the road, shall we? Woo! Depressing, suicidal fanfiction, away! ...God, I must be REALLY tired; I'm afraid I've gone slap happy on you all. Well, this should be interesting...

* * *

Chapter Five

_"A nightmare?" Bunny growled. "Is this Pitch's work?"_

_"It's impossible to tell," Tooth told him, looking away. "But I think I know what his nightmare was about."_

"You do?" North asked, raising an eyebrow. Tooth looked on the verge of tears, flawless teeth worrying her lower lip. Whatever it was, it was bad, he decided. "Let's hear it." She drew in a breath, eyes sliding closed for a moment, and nodded slowly. When again her eyelids lifted, the traces of tears were replaced by fire. She wanted nothing more than to help her ailing friend.

"It was the morning after we stopped Pitch," she began, eyes far as she recalled memories from those days passed. "We were all back here, celebrating." The boys nodded, they remembered that well enough. "Jack was being quiet after the celebration started dying down and I saw him looking at his tooth container. There was a small, sad smile on his face. I went over and asked him if he was alright; he said he was and just smiled up at my normally. I didn't think anything of it, really. He just found out his past and I didn't want to pry in his personal business, so I just let it go. But I was still curious, so I asked Baby Tooth. She had been with him when he opened the container. She didn't know exactly what happened, but he had told her that before he became Jack Frost, he had a sister. And he saved her life. That's when he realized why he was chosen as a guardian of children: because it's what he was all those years ago, even if he didn't remember."

"Geeze," Bunny muttered, "that's quite a thing to suddenly remember."

Getting back to the point, North asked, "You wouldn't happen to know what happened after that, would you?" But he feared he already knew the answer to that.

"No, but I think I can guess that too. When he was dreaming, he kept muttering things. He said 'didn't leave you. Didn't want to.' Then when he started thrashing around... What did it look like to you?" None of them had an answer. "Jack told us about when he woke up," she reminded them. He had; they asked somewhere during the celebration and he answered, though he didn't seem very comfortable talking about it.

Images started flashing over Sandy's head. "He rose up out of a lake," North translated. Realization slowly dawned on him. "He saved his sister, and he drowned... You think he's dreaming of... of drowning." Tooth nodded solemnly. What a horrible thing that must be, unable to escape reliving your death over and over. And something like drowning, at that.

"This is bad," Bunny summarized, pointing out the obvious. He turned to Sandy. "Do you think it's possible to help him?" The look on Sandy's face was heartbreaking as a swirly, golden question mark formed in the air.

"Jack's made one thing clear:" North reminded them, "he doesn't want our help.

"That doesn't mean he doesn't _need_ it," Tooth growled. "We're going to help even if it means he never trusts us again!" Sandy nodded enthusiastically.

"Nice speech," Bunny deadpanned, "but how do you propose we do that?" She opened her mouth to speak, but her face fell as she realized she had no idea.

North put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "We will figure it out."

~OoO~

Jack felt hurt, betrayed, thought that was pretty illogical, he realized. Still, what right did they have to do that? They might as well have drugged him. When he woke up face-down, the rest of the Guardians standing over him like he was some poor, frightened child... He was so humiliated. He felt weak. Perhaps they had only been trying to help, but they would have done well to ask him about it first.

All Jack could think about was getting as far away from the North Pole as he could. And that, obviously, meant Antarctica. Within an hour, he found himself surrounded by frozen nothing. It was peaceful, but it also gave him a lot of time to think. And, lately, his thoughts tended to turn toward his dreams. He tried pushing them down, but the feeling of water filling his lungs, of burning muscles, of flailing limbs trying to pull him free of the dark and freezing water... He let out a scream of frustration and fear.

Why couldn't the stupid nightmares go away? He didn't care that he died! He didn't care that spent hundreds of years wandering the earth alone until he finally found his purpose! He didn't care that he was robbed of his life and forced into a frozen existence, unable to grow or age or be seen or bask in the summer sun. He didn't care that he would never see his family again, never hear them tell them they loved him... It was all too much; a few tears slid down Jack's cheeks, but he wiped them away before they could freeze.

_Are you really okay, forever condemned to an existence - not a life, not really - of ice and cold?_

"I'm a Guardian," he told himself firmly. "The world needs me. People can see me, now. I have friends. I'm not alone anymore."

_So sure about that, are we? You can only stay where it's cold, at least for more than a couple hours, that is. All of your 'friends' can go wherever they want, whenever they want. Sooner or later, they will leave you behind. You will be cold and alone again._

"Shut up," he said... to his head... "That won't happen. It can't..."

_It can, and it will. The sooner you realize that, the better. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you may realize your family - the ones who_ really_ love you, the ones you _really_ want, _really_ need - are closer than you think._

"They... they are?"

_They are. If you're willing to go to them, that is._

* * *

A/N: Bum bum buh! Evil, ambiguous, slightly cliff-hanger-y ending for the win! Sorry it was short, but, hey? What else is new. And I'll try to have a new chapter up before December, but no promises xD


End file.
